Tailoring thermal expansion in metal matrix composites blended by antiperovskite manganese nitrides exhibiting giant negative thermal expansion

We controlled thermal expansion of metal matrix composites (MMCs) that had been blended using antiperovskite manganese nitrides with giant negative thermal expansion (NTE). The NTE of the manganese nitrides, which is isotopic, is greater than -30 ppm K-1 in alpha (coefficient of linear thermal expansion), which is several or ten times as large as that of conventional NTE materials. These advantages of nitrides are desirable for practical application as a thermal-expansion compensator, which can suppress thermal expansion of various materials including metals and even plastics. Powder metallurgy using pulsed electric current sintering enables us to reduce temperatures and times for fabrication of MMCs. Consequently, chemical reactions between matrix (Al, Ti, Cu) and filler can be controlled and even high-melting-point metals can be used as a matrix. Thermal expansion of these MMCs is tunable across widely various alpha values, even negative ones, with high reproducibility. These composites retain a certain amount of voids. Formation of rich and stable interfacial bonding, overcoming large mismatch in thermal expansion, remains as a problem that is expected to hinder better composite performance. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4759121]